


CinderIce: Iceland x Finland Hetalia!

by Rose_Maple



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 02:53:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29644665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_Maple/pseuds/Rose_Maple
Summary: A parody of Cinderella by the Nordics of Hetalia. I can't take this seriously but I hope y'all like it anyway.
Relationships: FinIce - Relationship, FinlandxIceland





	1. 1

"CinderIce! Come here!" Mister Denmark called. He was CinderIce's stepfather, he married CinderIce's mother after his father died. A few months ago, CinderIce's mother had been confirmed dead at a shipwreck. 

Mister Denmark had two sons of his own, they weren't very nice. None of them were nice, actually. They had made CinderIce a slave in his own home, but he tried not to think about it much. He instead just ignored their rude comments and kept a light smile on his face.

CinderIce quickly arrived at Mister Denmark's door and stepped inside with a can of beer. "You called, Mister Denmark?" 

Mister Denmark cackled and snatched the beer away. "Yeah, I just wanted my beer. Now, go. My darling sons may need you."

As if on cue, Nordrella and Swestasia called for him. "CinderIce, CinderIce. Come here, now." CinderIce raced to the bathroom where his stepbrothers were brushing their teeth and knocked on the door. "Get in here, CinderIce. You're not being paid to sit at the door."

"I'm not being paid at all!" CinderIce thought. He opened the door and stepped in. "What do you need, stepbrothers?"

"Our clothes are dirty and so is the floor. What have you been doing?" Nordrella spat at him. He wiped the spit off of his face and grabbed the basket of dirty laundry. "I'm terribly sorry, there is no excuse for my inattentiveness."

"Of course not. Now hurry up, we have things to do." Nordrella shooed him out and slammed the bathroom door in his face. CinderIce sighed and went to wash their clothing. Once he finished, he hung up the clothes and fed the animals. "Hey, lad!" His Puffin friend called, "Ya look dirty. Haven't ya heard of a bath?"

"Mister Puffin, I'm too busy for that. I have to get these clothes ready or I'll be punished again."

"Well, it's gonna be a while! There's no wind out here." Mister Puffin looked around and ate corn from CinderIce's hand. "It's a fairly warm day, surely the sun will dry them right up!"

"Start praying, lad. Your master is giving you the death stare from his bed."

CinderIce looked up and Mister Denmark was indeed giving him a death stare. "He's not my master, but I musn't disrespect him."

"Why? He doesn't deserve your kindness!"

"I'm doing it for mother."

"Honestly kid, I'm sure she would understand if you punched him in the face a few times."

"Maybe so, but he owns my childhood home now. I want to stay."

"Alright. What about the two brats?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you gonna stand up to them?"

"Same outcome, I'm afraid."

Mister Puffin shook his head. "Okay, well I have to head out for a bit. Catch ya later, lad!"

"Bye." CinderIce watched his friend fly away and felt the clothes. They had dried surprisingly fast. He grabbed them and ran to iron them and deliver them to Nordrella and Swestasia.

He arrived at their room with a basket of clean, folded clothes and set them down near the door. "It's about time. What took you so long?"

Swestasia placed a hand on Nordrella'a shoulder and gave him the hard eyes. "Your w'rk is acc'ptable. Y' can g'."

CinderIce left quickly and was about to sit when Mister Denmark called him again. He walked up to Mister Denmark's room and peeked through the door. "Will you quit acting like a mouse? Get in here, you know I'll say that every time, peabrain!"

"Apologies, Master...I mean, Mister Denmark. I won't do it again."

Mister Denmark smirked at him. "Master? I like the sound of that." CinderIce gulped, "You will refer to me as Master Denmark now. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Master." CinderIce muttered as he imagined himself slapping Mister Puffin. "Good boy. Now, get out of here before I throw my beer at ya. Oh, and scrub the kitchen floor, I know it's filthy again!"

CinderIce ran out and got straight to work. He filled a bucket with hot, soapy water and drowned a sponge in it. He squeezed the sponge and started scrubbing the floor as hard as he could.

Suddenly, Nordrella walked into the kitchen in muddy shoes and stomped on CinderIce's hand, causing him to yelp in pain. "Nordrella!"

"Why are my best shoes dirty?"

"I'm not sure."

"I wasn't looking for an answer, CinderIce. I demand that you clean them immediately!"

"Alright, well...take them off and hand them to me."

"No."

"...No?"

"I'm not taking my shoes off on this filthy floor! What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not sure what you want me to do, then."

"Clean them while I'm wearing them. Are you stupid or something?"

"But they'll get dirty again."

"Ugh, clean my shoes. Then, clean the floor."

"I thought you had things to do?"

"I can wait, CinderIce. How long could it take you, anyway?"

CinderIce dropped the sponge back in the bucket and sat Nordrella in a clean chair. He started scrubbing his shoes with a new sponge carefully, hoping he wouldn't miss any spots. Nordrella's shoes were pointy at the front, and CinderIce didn't feel like getting kicked in the face. 

Once he finished with Nordrella's shoes, he began to scrub the floor again. Surprisingly, Nodrella actually sat there. CinderIce looked up at him, confused. "You're actually going to sit there?"

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, of course not, you do whatever you wish. I just thought you would...I dunno, make me carry you outside or something."

Still looking up, CinderIce could see an evil grin spread across Nordrella's face. "That's a fantastic idea." Nordrella pointed at the front door, "CinderIce, take me outside."

CinderIce sighed and stopped what he was doing to obey his new command. He walked back up to Nordrella and picked him up. "Like this?" He asked. Nordrella nodded and smiled, quite pleased with himself. CinderIce rolled his eyes and carried Nordrella out of the front door and put him down at the end of their walkway. "Here you go, Nordrella. Do you need anything else?"

"No. Go back to the kitchen and finish scrubbing the floor." Nordrella stuck his nose in the air, hopped on his horse and galloped away into town. CinderIce walked back to the kitchen and saw Master Denmark standing in the door between the living room and the kitchen with Swestasia. 

"Master Denmark!" CinderIce stared in horror at the floor. It was still covered in mud and dirt. "I can explain!"

"CinderIce, you know what's going to happen now." Master Denmark pulled out a long, Black stick and glared at him, "Don't bother arguing. Come here and turn around."

Swestasia watched warily as CinderIce obeyed. "F'ther, that-"

"Swestasia, go have fun, alright? I have some business to take care of."

CinderIce heard his stepbrother walk away and braced himself. "All you had to do was clean the floor, and you didn't even start."


	2. 2

CinderIce sat on his bed in the attic and applied rubbing alcohol to his wounds. "Stupid Nordrella." He hissed at the stinging feeling, "It's always my fault, isn't it? How stupid. I wonder how I'll get in trouble today."

He stood up and got dressed, then headed down the stairs. Master Denmark grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the side. "CinderIce, you need to go buy groceries now."

"Why doesn't Nordrella do it?" CinderIce muttered. "What was that? You wanna repeat that, CinderIce?"

"I said I will get on it right away, Master Denmark."

"Good boy." Master Denmark dragged CinderIce by his hair and threw him out of the front door. He stood up and slowly made his way to the nearest store. He reached the town square when a loud trumpet was blown from the stand. 

"The royal messenger has arrived!" CinderIce heard the people whispering as the royal messenger pulled up a piece of paper. "There shall be a ball tonight for the prince who must find a suitor! He hopes you can all attend, as any one in this crowd could be the one. Formal invitations will be sent to every household in the village, please be sure to check your mailboxes later on today. That is all, enjoy your day, folks."

The royal messenger left as soon as he appeared and everyone was now chatting loudly. CinderIce had a feeling he wouldn't be able to go, so he carried on his way to the grocery store and decided he would let one of his stepbrothers get the mail.

When he returned home from his shopping trip, he found his stepfamily sitting in the kitchen. It looked like they had received the letter and were reading it without him, not that he even really cared. "I brought the groceries, Master Denmark."

Master Denmark waved him off, he seemed too focused on the paper. "Yeah, yeah. You know what to do with those, nobody cares." CinderIce shrugged and started putting the groceries away. "Is that the letter?" He asked. Nordrella glared at him and nodded. "What's it to you, slave?"

Swestasia pinched his brother's shoulder and gave CinderIce a quick thumbs up. "Well, at least one of my stepbrothers isn't so bad!" CinderIce flashed him a smile and finished unloading the groceries so he could go upstairs. As he went to leave the kitchen, he felt like something was watching him. He turned and saw his stepfamily talking about the paper, so they weren't watching him. 

He continued to his bedroom and opened his window. The day was almost over, but it was still nice to just sit there at an open window and think about life. 

Suddenly, Mister Puffin came out of nowhere and flew through the window. He hit the wall but quickly recovered by grinning as if he meant to do that. "Heya, buddy!"

"Hello, Mister Puffin. Did that hurt?"

"Oh, no. Not at all. Anywaay, I heard about the ball and-"

"I don't think Master Denmark would allow me to go."

"Oh." Mister Puffin thought for a moment, "Well, can't you just sneak out and sneak back in before midnight?"

"Sure, I could...but, I should at least try asking. If he says no, then I'll consider your idea. Also, I don't have any castle-worthy clothes."

"I'll handle the clothing issue, lad. You go chat up the big guy and I'll be back later." Mister Puffin flew out and into the town. CinderIce strongly doubted Master Denmark would agree, but he went down to ask anyway.

CinderIce's stepfamily was still in the kitchen, chatting away about whatever happened in their lives. He approached Master Denmark and asked if they could speak privately. They both walked to the garden and sat on the bench. "Okay, what do you want?"

CinderIce twiddled his thumbs in his lap. "Well...I was wondering, since I don't have much of a social life, could I maybe go to the ball? I won't speak to the prince, if that's what you want!"

Master Denmark laughed in his face. "A ratty slave like you does not belong in such a beautiful place! You're lucky we even let you stay here. Even this place is too fancy for someone like you!"

"So, that's a no?"

"That is an absolutely not! You'll only embarrass us." Master Denmark spat, "The prince will be so disgusted by your appearance that he won't be able to stick around and drool over my boys!"

CinderIce had no reply, he just sat there hanging his head. "I understand."

"You better. Now, the party starts in a few hours, you need to help my boys get ready!" Master Denmark dragged him inside and wandered off to get himself ready. 

After spending hours helping his stepbrothers, he was too exhausted to sneak out anyway. He sat at the table and waved goodbye as his stepfamily gave him nasty looks and hopped into a Purple carriage. 

He sadly walked up the stairs to his room and sat on his bed. Mister Puffin hadn't come by at all, it was hopeless. "So much for having some rebellious fun." CinderIce frowned. Forgetting the window was open, he watched as Mister Puffin suddenly flew in and tossed some clothes at him. "Mister Puffin! I didn't think you'd actually come."

"Ya gotta have some fun in your life, I'm not about to let you miss this! Put the clothes on and meet me in the front yard!" Mister Puffin flew back out of the window and towards the front yard. 

CinderIce quickly tossed on the clothes and looked in the mirror. He looked rather dashing. He wore a Purple and White striped shirt with a Black tie with a White jacket that had Brown fur on it. His pants were White and his shoes were Black. It wasn't what anyone would call fancy, but it was acceptable.


	3. 3

CinderIce raced outside and found Mister Puffin sitting on a pumpkin. "Okay, what now?" He asked the bird. "Gimme that stick." Mister Puffin commanded. CinderIce handed him a weird-looking stick and stepped back a bit. His bird friend said some weird things and the pumpkin turned into a carriage!

"How'd you do that?" CinderIce looked at his bird friend with a shocked expression. "It's called magic. Get in, I snatched a few mice, I can turn them into horses and we'll be on our way."

"Who's going to steer them?" CinderIce looked back as he entered the carriage. "Me, of course!" Mister Puffin cackled, "I can turn myself into a human. Oh, only until midnight, though. Keep an eye on the clock. It's ten right now."

"Alright, Mister Puffin!"

A few moments later, the carriage started moving and they were on their way to the castle. They got there in fifteen minutes, and human Mister Puffin helped CinderIce out of his carriage. "Thank you, Mister Puffin."

"No problem! Don't get caught, okay?"

"I'll do my best. Come back around eleven thirty, okay?"

"You got it, tough guy!" Mister Puffin took off with the carriage as CinderIce walked inside to the ballroom. He felt extremely nervous, he's never been to one of these parties before.

He hid behind a pole and saw his stepbrothers greeting the prince as everyone else simply talked or drank punch. The prince looked bored in his eyes, but he held a strong smile. 

CinderIce's stepbrothers made their way back to Master Denmark and argued about who the prince may like more. Shaking his head, he walked out from behind the random pole and wandered around, exploring the new area. The ballroom was absolutely stunning, there was a giant chandelier and many, many windows. The walls looked as if they were made of pure Gold!

As he admired the room, he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He spun around and saw it was the prince! He bowed to the future leader. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there, your highness!"

"It's quite alright. I don't believe we've met before. Of course, you seem to know I'm prince Finny!"

"Yes, you are. My name is CinderIce. It's a honor to meet you."

"CinderIce, that's quite a name! Would you like to dance?" Prince Finny held out his hand, and CinderIce happily took it. "I would love to."

They typically made their way to the center of the room and slow danced together. Over prince Finny's shoulder, CinderIce could see his stepfamily glaring at him. They obviously recognized him, and he panicked. He jumped away from the prince and ran to the balcony. "Oh, no. I'm so dead!" CinderIce mumbled to himself. He looked at the giant clock. Eleven fifteen. Mister Puffin would be here soon and he could leave.

"Why are you dead, CinderIce?" He shrieked and turned around, scaring the prince. "Oh, your highness! I didn't mean to scream at you, I just...my stepfamily, they're here and..." He felt his heart leap into his throat and he couldn't speak. 

"Did they not want you here?" Prince Finny looked at him with concern, "You can tell me. I promise!"

CinderIce took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "I've been their slave for years, I just wanted one night away from that terrible place and now-"

Ding dong!

"I'm sorry, I need to leave!" CinderIce turned to leave, but prince Finny grabbed his hand. "Why do you have to leave?"

"I just have to! Please, just let me go!" He broke free from the prince and ran down the large steps of the castle. CinderIce's shoe fell off, but he didn't care. He had heard the prince call for the gates to close and he needed to escape. He managed to slip through and hopped into his carriage. "Hurry, Mister Puffin!"

"Hold on tight, it's gonna be a rough ride!" Mister Puffin snapped the rope and the horses took off down the road. Mister Puffin and CinderIce quickly made it home and ran to hide in his bedroom. 

Moments later, he heard the front door slam closed. "CinderIce, come down here right now! You disobedient little rat!"

CinderIce sheepishly and foolishly approached his stepfamily and was met with a slap in the face. "I ought to kill you for humiliating us like that! How could you do that to your stepbrothers?"

Nordrella and Swestasia watched in horror as Master Denmark pulled out the long, Black stick and started beating CinderIce to the ground. It seemed like forever, but only five minutes later the hits had stopped coming. Cinderice laid helpless on the floor, bleeding and hurting all over. 

Master Denmark violently dragged him up the stairs and tossed him into his room. "Now you can stay in here and rot! Nobody will ever find you." He locked the window and door with a key and left.

CinderIce managed to crawl up to his bed and cried. How long would he be here? Until he died? "Well, this is bad." Mister Puffin squawked from the closet, "I'm amazed you actually listened to me, tough guy."

"Shut up, Mister Puffin."

"Alright. If you're going to sleep, just know that I'm sorry for getting you killed."

With those last words, they both fell asleep.


	4. 4

A loud pounding sound had woken up CinderIce and Mister Puffin. They looked at the door just in time to see if fly across the room. "What the...?"

"Hey, it's that prince guy's guards!" Mister Puffin pointed out. One of the guards stepped forward and helped the injured slave-boy out of his bed. "The prince is down stairs, come with us."

"The prince?" CinderIce went with them, making sure Mister Puffin had tagged along. They got down to the living room and saw Master Denmark in handcuffs. "You are under arrest for enslaving a minor, assaulting a minor, child abuse and wrongful imprisonment. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

The guards shoved Master Denmark into a small carriage and sped off. Prince Finny saw CinderIce and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Yeah, I barely made it." CinderIce looked at his stepbrothers and walked over to them, "You two, I swear...you've made me suffer for so long, both of you. But, I forgive you. Swestasia, I appreciate the small amount of kindness you managed to show. Nordrella, you're spoiled. I hope I never see you guys again. Thanks for the memories. Bye." He walked back to prince Finny, who smiled at him.

"Will you marry me, CinderIce?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Wonderful! Let's go!" They both climbed into the royal carriage together and went on their way to the castle. "Hey, prince Finny?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you care about me so much when we've known each other for less than twenty-four hours?"

"I felt a strong connection with you."

"Ah, okay."

"I love you, CinderIce." Prince Finny took his hand and kissed him. After the sweet smooch, CinderIce leaned back and smiled. "I love you too, Finny."

"Uh oh, I forgot about the mice." Came a voice from under the seat. "Mister Puffin, come on."

"Sorry, lad!"


	5. 1.2

In the far away land of Scandinavia, there was a boy who went by the name of Emil. After a terrible tragedy in his home country, he went on to live with his brother and their awful stepfamily he had escaped from a few years before. 

His stepfather, Mr. Køhler, had married their mother for her money and did nothing to help her when she fell deathly ill, and didn't hesitate to turn Emil and Lukas into slaves once she was gone. 

Unfortunately, Lukas seemed to have been brainwashed after Emil had left, and was just as bad as their stepbrother, Berwald. While both were mean to Emil, there were some obvious differences in behavior, such as Berwald's lack of spine and Lukas' being a legitimate brat.

Despite this, Emil held a grudge against all of them for their cruelty. He never let it show, though, and grinned through everything to avoid more trouble.

On this day, Emil had overslept and there was a loud pounding sound on his door. He sat up slowly and glared at the door, but his anger quickly became panic when he realized who was trying to break his door down. He rushed out of bed and threw his door open, coming face-to-face with Mr. Køhler.

"Good morning, Mister Køhler." Emil nervously greeted him, "How did you sleep?"

Mr. Køhler forced his way into Emil's room and looked around. "I should be askin' you that question, judging by the situation we're in now."

"Situation?"

"Look at this, Emil! It's midday and you only got up just now. What is this, some sort of stupid joke? You've just made far more work for yourself today, you fool."

"Seriously?" Emil glared at Mr. Køhler, who turned around and glared back at him. 

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"N-No, Mister Køhler. I'll get to work right away."

"Good."

After many hours of cleaning the house furiously, Emil sat down in front of the fireplace and watched the fire burn. He began thinking of what could've been when someone kicked him in the back. 

"Hey!" The person said. Dreadfully, Emil stood up and turned around to face his assaulter. It was Lukas, unfortunately. 

"Hi, Lukas."

Lukas stomped his foot impatiently and grabbed his arm. "Where have you been? Berwald and I need you for something right now. You're coming with me, or I'm telling Mister Køhler."

"Well, you already have my arm. Might as well take the rest of me."

"I don't need your stupid comments, Emil."

They argued quietly and somewhat civilly as they walked up the stairs to the dressing room. Emil stopped in the doorway and looked at the pile of clothes on the floor.

"What's all of this for?" He asked. Lukas turned to him and replied, "Well, we need you to pick up and put away the clothes we aren't using."

"Are your arms broken?"

"What?"

"Nothing." Emil internally facepalmed, "Why did you pull out so many clothes, anyway?"

"Well, there's a ball coming up soon. Obviously, we're trying to put together our perfect outfits."

Lukas continued, "And no, we don't need nor want your useless opinion. All you wear are those ugly rags, you don't have any fashion sense."

"Maybe give me some fucking clothes, then?" Emil thought, but remained silent. 

"Well, get to work!" Lukas flounced over to a nearby dresser and proceeded to pull out nearly everything in there as Berwald looked at Emil apologetically.

Emil continued to stare at him absolutely dumbfounded for a moment before he started refolding a nearby pile. 

Two hours later, Emil was released from fabric hell, only to be thrown in the kitchen to make dinner immediately after.

Rather than joining them at the table, Emil decided he was sick of them again and ate dinner up in the attic with his bird friend, Mr. Puffin.

After cleaning up the downstairs area again, Emil traveled back up to his bedroom and opened the window to let the annoying bird out. 

"Goodnight, Mister Puffin. Tomorrow is another day."


	6. 2.2

"Emil, get up!" 

Emil sat up slowly and turned to look at Mr. Køhler, who stood beside him with a smug grin on his face. "Er...huh, Mister Køhler?"

"Guess what time it is."

Emil looked at the clock, despite knowing damn well he'd slept in again, and sighed. "Right. So, what's my punishment today?"

"Lukas and Berwald-"

"You needn't say more there. Where are they?"

"Town square. Get dressed and get your ass in gear. They've waited long enough for ya."

Within fifteen minutes, Emil was up and out of the front door. He ran down the road to the village and found Berwald and Lukas chatting, sitting on the edge of the town fountain. They noticed his arrival and watched snobbishly as he approached them.

"Sorry I'm late. I just-"

Lukas stood up and yanked Emil's hair back, causing him to stumble a bit. "I don't care about why you're late, Emil. I only care that you were, and that you need to work on it because this is seriously inconvenient for us."

Annoyed by the silence from him, Lukas scoffed and turned back to face Berwald, who looked at him in shock. "Well, let's go. We have stuff to do!"

The trio walked into a tailor shop and stayed there for a few hours. Eventually, Lukas and Berwald had their perfect outfits finally prepared, and Emil thought they could go home. 

Unfortunately, Lukas had gotten distracted and they ended up going to five more shops before going home. Once they finally got there, Emil nearly collapsed on the floor when Mr. Køhler decided that he wasn't done.

"Emil, the living room floor is absolutely disgusting!" He complained.

Emil replied angrily, "What am I supposed to do about it? It's made of wood, I can't scrub wood to the point where you can slip on it!"

"Don't get smart with me, you stupid brat. Do as I say, or you'll get the belt before bedtime!"

"Whip me all you want, Mister Køhler. I'm not rubbing your goddamn wood."

Mr. Køhler blushed at Emil's poor wording, as did he, and the room howled with laughter. Feeling humiliated, Emil quietly entered the living room and kneeled down beside the bucket of water that'd been waiting for him, and started scrubbing the floor.

An hour later, he finished cleaning the floor and went up to the attic where his bed was. He closed the door and saw Mr. Køhler standing behind the spot where the door had sat. 

He let out a shriek and jumped back. "Mister Køhler, what're you doing in here?" 

"You're going to bed in a minute, aren't you?"

"Yes, why?" Emil quickly realized what was going on and held up his hand in defense as the cruel man walked closer to him, "Hey, hey wait! I cleaned the floor like you told me to!"

"Yeah, but you made a big fuss before actually doing it. I won't stand for such stubborn behavior."

Disappointed, Emil carefully removed his shirt and sulked at his bedside. Mr. Køhler pulled the beating belt off of the wall and viewed the previous marks along Emil's back, then pulled the belt back before harshly throwing it towards the young boy. 

He did this repeatedly for a few minutes. Each hit getting louder and more painful than the last. Little did either of them know, Berwald had been listening through the door shortly before the beating stopped. 

Mr. Køhler hung the belt back up and admired his work with a sickening grin. Emil's back had more marks and bruises than before, which pleased Mr. Køhler greatly. "Now, Emil. Have you learned your lesson?"

Knowing it would do no good to deny it, Emil lied and told him that he had, in fact, learned his lesson.

"Good. Now, go to bed. Tomorrow may be busy as well."

With those final words, Mr. Køhler slammed the door shut and left Emil to his own company. He slipped his shirt back on and painfully climbed into his bed. 

Later, around midnight, he woke up in a vague daze to someone or something moving around in his room. Despite the risks, he wasn't worried and quietly went back to sleep.


	7. 3.2

Emil woke up to the beautiful sunrise crashing through his window. "Finally," He thought, "Mister Køhler won't be visiting me this morning."

He suddenly felt a strange resistance on his back and felt around under his shirt's fabric. He quickly discovered that someone had bandaged up his wounds last night. It made him smile, knowing that somebody still cared for him.

He got up and went downstairs to clean up the house before everyone got up. To his surprise, Berwald was waiting for him in the kitchen. Startled, Emil fell backward and caught the wall before he went all the way down.

"Berwald? What are you doing up so early?"

"I w'nted t' see y' bef're th' oth'rs w'ke up." The Swede mumbled.

Emil stood back on his two feet and grabbed a nearby mop. "Oh. Any particular reason for this, or...?"

"I h'rd wh't f'ther d'd l'st n'ght."

"You heard everything?"

"Ja."

"Oh, great. Is this round two?"

"Wh't? No. I'm s're you found th' b'nd'ges by n'w."

"Yeah. Wait, did you do it?"

"Of c'rse I d'd. I kn'w y' w'ke up l'st night, I w's in y'r room."

Emil slowly remembered what he saw last night before he fell asleep again and nodded. "Okay."

"Do th'y st'll hurt?"

"Er, no. They don't, surprisingly."

"S'rprisingly?"

"The pain usually lasts a couple of days or so, even with bandages on. Of course, it's kind of hard for me to put them on myself. Thank you, Berwald."

"You're w'lc'me." Berwald sipped his coffee, "L'sten, I'm s'rry I n'ver did anyth'ng b'fore."

"I forgive you, Ber. Mister Køhler would probably whip you, too."

"At least y' wouldn't g' through it al'ne."

"It's whatever, honestly. I have to clean the place up before they wake up, you should probably go get some more sleep."

"L't me h'lp ya."

"Oh, uh-"

Before Emil could protest, Berwald grabbed a broom and walked off to another room to sweep the dirt away. Together, the house was cleaned an hour earlier than usual, which left Mr. Køhler and Lukas very surprised.

Unfortunately, they had no idea Berwald even helped and mocked Emil for speeding through his chores, much to Berwald's horror, and gave him more things to do.

Emil ended up cleaning and running family errands for the majority of the day while his stepbrother watched hopelessly, feeling guilty for Emil's lost free time.

Around dinner time, Mr. Køhler had left with Lukas for some out-of-town business, leaving Berwald behind because he was asleep in his room. Emil, knowing they'd be home around eight at night, made dinner only for himself and Berwald.

He left two plates of sandwiches on the table and went upstairs to Berwald's room, and knocked on the door softly. "Berwald?" He called, "It's dinner time, are you hungry?"

He heard the creaking of Berwald's bed and went back down to sit at the table. He waited patiently as his stepbrother came over and sat beside him. "H'llo, Emil."

"Hi."

They ate dinner quietly and quickly. Emil rushed to clean up the mess and was stopped by Berwald. "C'me with me."

He led Emil back up to the dressing room and handed Emil some clothes. "Try th'se."

"Huh?" Emil stared at the clothes, "What's this for?"

"Just try th'm on."

Emil did as told and changed into multiple flashy suits. He had to show all of them to Berwald, who seemed pleased with most of the looks. Emil changed back into his normal clothes after the last outfit and looked at Berwald. "So?"

"Y' look gr't in wh'te. H're."

Berwald grabbed one more pile of clothes from a random shelf and handed them to Emil. He quickly changed into a pure white suit and looked at Berwald again, who almost smiled and nodded. "Th't's p'rfect."

"Thanks, but why do I need it?"

"You're g'ing to th' ball."

"What? Mister Køhler would never agree to that!"

"I don't c're. Y' des'rve it."

"Where will I even hide this? He'd find it immediately."

"I'll p't it under m' bed."

"Okay, good idea."

Emil once again changed back to his normal outfit and handed the suit to Berwald, who walked to his bedroom and gently placed the suit under his bed, as he said he would. He came back to the dressing room and helped Emil put the rejected clothes away.

Afterwards, Emil was tired and decided to go to sleep. He and Berwald walked up to the attic and stopped in the doorway. "Well," Emil spoke, "I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for...everything. It means a lot to me, really."

"You're w'lcome. Th' b'll is tom'rrow, I'll pr'bably have t' ride with th'm, so y'know where th' suit is?"

"Yeah. They're going to be home soon, don't let them know about any of this."

"Ok'y."

"Goodnight, Berwald."

"G'night, Emil. Sleep w'll."

With that, they went their separate ways and went to sleep before Mr. Køhler and Lukas returned.


	8. 4.2

The morning flew by and Emil was in the dressing room with his brothers, helping them get ready. Lukas wore a lovely dark blue suit with a light purple flower on the right side of his suit jacket and Berwald wore a light blue suit with gentle ruffles sewn down the middle of his dress-shirt, along with a bow in a lighter shade of blue.

Mr. Køhler came in and admired his young men. "Emil, for once you didn't completely screw it up. Let's keep this up, yeah?" 

"Yes, Mister Køhler." 

The words slipped through one ear and out of the other for Emil, as he was too excited for what he was going to do. He occasionally caught Berwald glancing at him and flashed his stepbrother a quick smile, then continued working on their suits. 

Eventually their outfits were fitted perfectly and the two men got into a carriage with Mr. Køhler. Lukas stuck his tongue out at Emil, who stood on the steps as the carriage drove away, and smirked. 

Once Emil couldn't see the carriage, he raced into Berwald's room and pulled the suit out from under his bed. To his absolute horror, the suit was shredded up and there was a note in one of the torn pockets.

"How stupid do you think I am? -Mr. Køhler."

Emil exhaled sharply, feeling his heart drop to his stomach. "No, no, no! No, come on! Why me?"

He sighed and looked around. "How did he know?"

Suddenly getting an idea, he raced to the dressing room and grabbed anything good he could find. Eventually, he threw together a purple striped shirt and a white jacket with brown fur around the hood. He quickly put on a black tie and white pants, along with black shoes.

"This looks fine enough." He walked outside and looked around, "Wait, how do I get there? It's so far."

Suddenly, a giant puffin flew down and landed in front of him. It was Mr. Puffin who, for some odd reason, was incredibly huge.

"Puffin, what happened to you?!" Emil asked, reasonably terrified.

"Well," Mr. Puffin replied, "I may have eaten somethin' weird in the woods over there and...yeah!"

"Wha-how?"

"Don't worry 'bout it. Hop on my back, I'm takin' ya to the castle!"

Emil carefully climbed on and Mr. Puffin took off with the wind. They were there within ten minutes, and Emil ran up the stairs. The guards let him in and he casually strolled into the ballroom where hundreds of people stood, and watched the people dancing for a moment.

In the distance, he saw Mr. Køhler and his brothers talking away. In the center, the prince stood, speaking to various men and women. "Prince Tino! Wow, I'm really here." Emil thought.

Nervously, he walked down the stairs, but stood nearby. Soon enough the floor had been cleared by those unwilling to dance, and he made eye contact with the prince. Embarrassed by this encounter, Emil immediately looked away and blushed.

A moment later, he saw the prince appear in front of him. "Hello!" Prince Tino spoke, "I'm Prince Tino, it's nice to meet you! What's your name?"

"It's, uh..." Emil stared at him with his jaw on the ground, "E-Emil."

"Emil? I like that name. Emil, Emil!" The prince repeated, "Emiiil."

Emil laughed nervously, oddly charmed by the prince's interest. 

"Anyway, care to dance?"

"Sure."

For the next few hours, Emil and Prince Tino danced, laughed and bonded over their favorite whatevers. They soon found themselves alone together on a balcony that led to the secondary exit in case of emergencies. They stood at the edge and sipped wine together as they watched the stars dance in the night sky.

"This is great, your highness." Emil stated.

"It is." Emil didn't notice, but Prince Tino had been admiring his beauty in the moonlight. "You know, Emil, I'm surprised to have met someone like you here. Tonight, of all nights."

"Well, you wouldn't be saying that in a positive tone if you met me during a robbery tonight. I being the robber, of course."

They both laughed and quickly returned to the soft mood. "Yeah, that's true." The prince agreed, "I don't think I would've wanted to meet you any other way, though."

"I agree. This is really just so magical. I can't believe I'm here, and with you."

"Emil!" A voice boomed from behind the two men. They turned around to see Mr. Køhler storming towards them, with Emil's brothers following closely behind. Tino stood in front of Emil defensively and held a hand up to stop Mr. Køhler from coming closer. "Who are you, sir?"

"I'm Mister Køhler, who the h-" He quickly realize who he was talking to and visibly shrunk, "Oh, your highness! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it was you."

"I accept your apology. Now, what business do you have with my company here?"

"He's my stepson. He's not supposed to be here!"

"Why not?" Prince Tino inquired.

Mr. Køhler cleared his throat and stood up straighter. "He's grounded, I'm afraid. I must bring him home immediately."

Emil cowered behind the prince and whispered to him, "Please don't let him get me. He's a liar!"

"Sir, this man obviously does not trust you." Prince Tino turned to look at Emil, "If what you say is true, we may have to investigate this matter."

Mr. Køhler jumped to protest, "We'll be fine, your highness! He just needs a good talking-to, is all."

"Emil-"

Before the prince could say more, Mr. Køhler had snatched Emil away and was dragging him down the stairs to the carriage. He forced Emil inside, along with his brothers, and called to the prince who now stood a few feet away in concern, "We'll be just fine, your highness! You needn't worry!"

Emil attempted to stand up, but was shoved back down as Mr. Køhler entered the carriage. "Prince Tino, help! Please!"

The carriage sped away and Emil was left to defend himself as Mr. Køhler stood above him, screaming abusive obscenities. He quickly noticed that his words were ignored and resorted to kicking and stomping on the poor boy, with his brothers watching from their seats. 

When they arrived home, Mr. Køhler dragged him out of the carriage and up to the attic, where he proceeded to use the belt on him long before bedtime. 

Emil went to sleep completely broken that night.


	9. 5.2

A week had passed now, and Emil was locked in the attic with no way to escape. His window had been nailed shut, the door key was burned. He was completely trapped and had been left to die, even by Lukas and Berwald.

"Berwald." Emil thought as he laid himself on the cold, hard floor. "Did he betray me? Did he tell Mr. Køhler about the suit? Why didn't he help me in the carriage? Why won't he help me now?"

He could hear yelling downstairs in the kitchen. Mr. Køhler had begun making Lukas and Berwald clean up the house. "I wonder how that's going."

Suddenly, he heard the front door open. Curious, he pressed his ear deeper to the floor and listened in. Even then, he could barely understand what was happening. After a few minutes, he gave up and closed his eyes. He had accepted that he would die in here; whether it be from bleeding out, hunger, dehydration, or maybe Mr. Køhler would finally beat him to death. Whatever would come, Emil would accept it.

As he felt himself drifting off to sleep, the door suddenly bursted open and revealed some of the castle guards standing there with a huge hammer-like object. One of them picked him up and carried him downstairs, where his horrible family sat with the prince and a few other guards.

Berwald and the prince looked absolutely shocked. Prince Tino rushed over and took Emil from the guard and held him in his own arms. "Emil, what happened?"

Unable to form proper words, Emil simply garbled some gibberish and hoped for the best.

"What?" Prince Tino turned and scowled at Mr. Køhler, "What the hell have you done? You sick monster! Guards, arrest him!"

One of the guards grabbed Mr. Køhler and handcuffed him. "Are we arresting these two, as well?" He gestured to Berwald and Lukas.

"Emil?" Prince Tino looked down at the young man questioningly, "I'll leave that up to you, okay?"

"No." Emil managed to speak, "Leave them be."

"As you wish. Guards, let's get Mr. Køhler to the dungeon and Emil to a hospital."

A few hours later, Emil was already feeling better. His abuser was finally in jail and he was free from the nasty old attic. All he wanted to do was laugh, but his throat hurt too much.

Lukas and Berwald came to visit him when they were allowed to. Naturally, Lukas didn't have much to say. Berwald, however, was very apologetic.

"Emil, I'm s'rry."

"Are you, Berwald? Are you really sorry?"

"Y's, of c'rse I am."

Emil grinned miserably. "If you don't mind me asking, how did Mr. Køhler find the suit?"

"I was p'lling a book out 'nd the suit c'me w'th it, and he c'me in at that mom'nt. I'm s'rry."

"Okay. One more question."

"Y's?"

"Why didn't you help me when I needed you the most?"

Berwald paused and looked away. "I...wh't?"

"I'm grateful that you helped me clean, and gave me that suit...but, why didn't you ever try to stop him from hurting me, or locking me away?"

"I didn't kn'w how t'."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't g't close en'gh to your door w'thout h'm app'ring, and I would've d'ne something in th' carriage, b't then every'ne would've g'tten h'rt someh'w."

"I guess that makes sense."

"At least he's g'ne now."

"Yeah, and so's my dignity."

"I'm...st'll so sorry, Em'l."

"I forgive you."

Berwald sheepishly left the room while Lukas came forward a second time.

"Oh hey, Lukas. Do you finally have something to say other than 'fuck you?'"

"Yeah."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"I think we should go to family therapy when this is over."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

Emil stared at him for a long moment, dumbfounded by his nerve. "Well, okay then."

The prince came in soon and took Lukas' spot beside Emil's hospital bed. "How are you feeling, Emil?"

"Not so good, how about you?"

"Ah. Well, better than you. Mr. Køhler won't be out for quite a while."

"That's good news."

"Yeah. So, I was wondering if you'd like to go out for coffee sometime. When you're feeling better, of course."

"Sure, I could use some fun."

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that."

"I'm sorry, too. I should've just poisoned Mr. Køhler's tea or something. Ugh."

"Now, Emil. Don't be like that."

Emil smiled gently. "It's getting late. I'm going to get some rest now, okay? You all should, too."

"Alright. Goodnight, Emil."

"Goodnight."

Prince Tino stood up and left the room with Lukas and carried on down the hallway until their shadows were gone, then Emil closed his eyes and fell asleep happily for the first time in a while.

Months went by and his relationships with Berwald and Lukas were much better, thanks to therapy and Mr. Køhler being absent from their lives. Emil eventually learned to forgive, but to never forget.

Also, he and Prince Tino decided to give it a shot and got married, and have been ruling the kingdom fantastically together since then.

The End.


End file.
